197 Railway Development in Preston-2 By M. D. GREVILLE and G. O, IIOLT Photol lE. codon Tidey Lancashire & Yorkshire Railv/ay 4-6-0 locomotive near Farington, south of Preston, with a Manchester-Blackpool train I)RiEF relerence bas already been recognised its potentialities, and pur- made_ ot fD to the ^early promise chased it on quite generous terms under the Preston & Wyre Railway, powers graDted by an Act of May 15, which began with a ser-vice oJ three 1B47. On July 28, 1849, the J-ondon & trains each way (one on Sundays)running North Western was admitted to joint from both the Maudlands terminus ancl oq'nership, but onl1' to the extent of the North Union's station in Preston. one third. The Nodh U4ion, as usual, saw to it On April 2, 1849, the East I-ancashire that it received rather more than its Railway's Liverpool, Ormskirk, and share of tolls lor the [se oJ the station. Preston line was opened. By making Shortly alter the opening, local stations connections at l-ostock Hall it became rvete erected at Lea Road and Sallvick, possible to travel lrom Liverpool to and these remained in use until lilay l, Preston in 55 min., which was consider- 1938, Salwick being subsequently re- ably better than anything thc L.N.\V.R. opened on November 2, 1942. could manage ala Parkside. The E.L.R. The flourishing nerv town oJ Fleetwood extelsion to the North Union statioD at and its steamboat traffic brought increas- Preston was opened lor passengers on ing revenue to the line, but it did not September 2, 1850, after being delayed prosper and, by 18J2, rvas in serious by floods wlich destroyed several arches financial diJhculties, attributed to the in the long viaducr approaching rhc depression of trade. Reorganisatiol of Ribble bridge. The conveyance o{ goods the undertaking brought a steady over this line began in November. The improvement and, in 1846, it opened extension leJt the Blackburn-Liverpool branches Jrom Kirkham to Lytham and line by junctions at Bamber Bddge and Poulton to Blackpool. By this time Lostock HaIl, the two lines coming most of its main line $'as being doubled, togcther at a point lvhere a station called and the company's position had improl.ecl Preston Junctionlvas opened in l)ecember, so much that the Manchester & Leeds 1852. It is remarkable that this name Jor t) 198 7'I1E IUILLV.l\' tt,lC-.tZI\E tllatch, 1960 a station t1\'o miles out of Prestolr was the stone, and a company rvas lormed perpctuatcd Jor a huodred years before with Peter Hesketh Fleetwood (later o{ the more distinctive name oI Todd Lane Preston & $ryre fame) as chairman of Junction was adopted. thc provisional committee, to apply Jor ln the years immediately follorviDg thc neccssary polvers. The prospectus thc opcning oJ this nerv approach to pointed out that two horses, with grcat the town there was continuous stitc labour, drerv three tons per day on the betwcen the E.L.R. and the North Union road, while, on the railway, thcy would collcerllin[J thc arangements under Nhich bc able to pull 40 tons Nith much lcss the Iormc,r used the latter's station, but difhcult\.. The estimatecl cost \\'as peacc came Nith the E.L.R. and I-.Y.]t. 130,000, and it \\'as e{pectcd that the amalgamation of .{ugust 13, 1859, and, annual return Nould be 16,633, \'ith as thc I-.\.\\'.R. leased the Laicaster rt expenses of {2,000, providing a profit Carlisle in the same ycar, the joint lcssccs of l5 per cent. It lvas m^de clear that ol thc r\orth l]niol and Preston & \\'yrc this estimate lvas based on stone traJfic Ilailrvays scttled do*'n more comfortablv alone, ancl no account had becn taken of in Prcsron Slalion-1hdl is, if it rrIri. other probable traffic, such as the con- possible {or an).one to be at ease ir the veyance o{ Iime lrom Longridge and coro abominable structure it was at that timc. and other commoditics from Preston. About 1830, quarrying on a considcr- It \vas the usual rosy prospcct which, ablc scale began on the Jells abovc of cou$e, lvas never remotely realised. Longridge, the stone being conveycd by No rcferellce \vas made to passengers, road to Preston and neighborring to\\11s l'he Act oI Incorporation of thc Piestoll \!hc!e it \ras largely used lor churches ct I-oltgritlge Railway \vas obtaincd on ancl public buildings; a good deal Nas July 14, 1836, the capital to be d30,000 also slrippccl from Preston to I-ivcrpool in {j00 sl)ares. It \\'as opcncd on flay l, for use in making the docks. 1840, commencing rrith a:r inclincd In 1835, Lhomas Fleming, one of tbe plane, three-quarters of a milc long from principal quarry o\\ ners, decidecl, \\'ith the quarries to Longridge, thence 5l miles others, to promote a raihray to carry to the Deepdale Street terminus rn Photol lL.a.R.P.lL.o.R.P. ^vo.No. 26469 The station building at Deepdale, on the Preston & Longridge Raihvay, now in use as a greengrocer's shop ttAlLry.llY DE\:ELOI)XIE \:'I' 1,Y PR.LSIOT\' 2 199 Preston, steadily falling oIr gradicnts of jDtcrcoursc bet\\'een tltc \\'est ltidil1g and I in 90 to 1 in 200 exccpt 1or a short thc Colonics, ?i4 Flcct\r'ood I stretch of I i 56 at the start. It \!as After considerablc opposition, this single throughout and $orked b)' horses, company \\'.rsincorPorated b1':Ln,\ct oI Nith an intermediatc station at Grimsargh. July 27, ts{{i, to makc the linc lrom The passenger scrvice oJ t\ro trains each T-oigridge to Clitheroc ; it $as aiireed to rvay clid not start until X'l.ty 2, as it ran Ieavc the lllacltburn, Olitheroc & North on \\:cdnesda]'s ancl Saturdays only (ilnd \\'cstern Junction RailNav to continuc Mav I rvas a Friclall.'ilonciays Latcr, trains ran thcnce to Iilslack, but that comPan)', orr Snndays and also, but har,ing obtail1cd po\\'cts for its line, serrer:rl ycars clapsed belore it reachcd r, \1r built it. I'orr,r's \\ere .rlsu 8i!"rr the dignity ol a daily service. Ior the connccting line :it Prcston, 1+ In 18-16,a companl'\\'i1h a big namc miles tong, and thjs, in fact, \\'as thc ard big icleas--the FleetNood, Prcst(n1 onlY part o{ the \holc schcmc (hich ::'] .|1. I i: ii*'t IL.G.R.P. No. 26r''70 Exterior of the former West Lancashire station at Preston & \\'cst Riding Junction ltaillay- \\,as ever urdertalicn, being oPened on appliecl {or po\\'crs to builrl lines {rom Januarv 1,1, 1850. Tho annual rent for the P.\\:.R. near llaudlands to join the thc P.l-.It., tlkcn ovcr as from Jamrarv P.L.l.{., and Jrom Longridgc, through l, 13{7, 1\'asJ3,000 a t('mptirli{ bargain Clitheroe, to Elslacli or1 thc I-o(<ls & for that conrparr, bcing far D()rc than BradJorcl Ilxtcnsjon Rail\;ry. It also arlytlli g it hacl carnc(I, or \'as likelv to proposod to makc a branch to Burnlcy earn. 'l'hc and to lease thc' l'.T-.R. capital \\'as One clTect of this small achielement to be 1270,000 in 1.12 shares. ,\noDg \\'as the \\'orscDingof rciations \rith the the declared objccts o{ this compallr', P.\\'.It. Thc ChairmaD of thc lattcr, $hich rvas largcly sponsored bv the addrcssing thc shareholclers,said this l.\\.1(., \ere lllbsc oI co|lrcctins H,\'1 $as a mattcr in spcaliing oI rvhich he \rood, l)restor (and I.el:urd) \\'jth tlull had <lilficult! in licepirg do\\'n his and thc \\'est Riding to\\'ns; to convcv {cclings. llt' c\plain({l that thc P.\\'.R, Belgian flax for the spiDrlcrsof Preston; bfld provisionallv agrccd to purchase the to carr\. \'isitors from Clithcroe, the \\'est P.t-.R. and :rlsoto pronlote the corrnecting Riding, ^nd othcr areas, to FlcetNoocl, linc, in agrccn)cotlvith the F.P.\\'.1t.J.R., Lytharn and Blackpool, and to lacilitate the iilca bcjnB that. it one flile,l, lhc 200 THE RAILIVAY II,TAGAZINE IIat'ch, tg60 other might get it. The F.P.W.R.J.R. On Novembe! l, a statio[ $'as opened had taken up a position adverse to the 'Ihe on the Preston connecting line at Maud- P.\\r.R. ard gone bel,ind its back. lands (sometimes called Maudlands P.$'.R. had therclorc washed its hands Bridge) and the trains lvere extended to oI it, and abandoned iDterest in the it. Deepdale Bridge (renamed Deepdale P.I-.R. One of the shareholders, although irt 1367)replaced thc old P.L.R. lerminus a P.L.R. director, expressed his opinion $'hich *'as theo confned to goods tlaJiic that the P.\Y.R. \Yas \\'ell out ot the only- The station buildiDg here still schcmc, and that it \vould never havc stands, bea ng the date 1850. Thc paid ! Preston historian, Hewitson, was not In the F.P.W.I{.J.II. report lor 18{8, lavourably impressed with Deepdale and it was stated that, although a certain X{audlands, recording that " both are amount of excavzrtion had been donc at of a very paltry character, especially the Hurst Green (traccs of this arc still latter, lvhich consists of nothing more visiblc), it \yas not prcposed to proceed than a narrow \l'oodeD platfor:m and a Nith the Clitheroc line {or the prcsclt rvooden, scntry-like box, from rvhich- because the line beyond had not beerl the box-tickets are issued." built.